Race organisers at the Island Sailing Club (ISC), Cowes have taken the unusual decision to amend the finish time of this year’s J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race to help alleviate any concerns competitors may have about being able to complete the Race within the usual time limit of 2200hrs. With entries currently standing at 860 and a first start at 0830 the ISC have extended the finish deadline by 30 minutes to 2230. They also give a reminder that Standard entries close at midnight on Saturday 18th June.
Some of the entries so far:Race organisers are always delighted to see familiar family names cropping up in the entry list and this year, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Contessa 26, the 78 year-old designer Jeremy Rogers has entered the beautifully restored 1966 Grayling with a family crew including 15 year-old grandson Jonah, and Hattie Rogers, a successful sailor in her own right.
No stranger to the Round the Island Race, the famous Swan 65 Desperado of Cowes (IRC), owned by Richard Loftus, has been chartered by Zbynek Zak, owner of the exquisite schooner Eleonora. Mr Zak comments: “We plan to have a race crew of 13-14, with a mix of a few of Desperado’s permanent crew, a few friends from the Squadron, a few friends who raced with us last summer on Eleonora, and a few ‘youngsters’ from the Squadron’s Sailing Academy, and of course Mike (McMillan, Eleonora’s Captain), who is running the show and last-but-not-least, a few wives.”
Lady Mariposa Dan Hardy leads a team that has developed over the last three years from racing an Oyster 625 to their new Ker 46. Team Lady Mariposa caught the racing bug as an Oyster 625 through entering events from Oyster races to RORC Offshore races, and over the course of three years the team felt their hunger for speed would be best channelled into a race boat.
+ The HJK Seamanship Award
The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race camaraderie shared amongst its thousands of competitors and also Race volunteers and safety teams on Race day often manifests itself in nominations for and the awarding of the Seamanship Award, sponsored by Haven Knox-Johnston.
During most years someone will at some point display great courage and/or particularly brave or selfless seamanship or emergency aid to help another and these feats are recognised through nominations for the Haven Knox-Johnston Seamanship Award. More details will be released on the Race website before the Race weekend.